It is an essential British interest that Putin’s efforts to split Germany, France and Italy from the front line states fails.
Both countries look set to continue to rub along uneasily, mixing elements of cooperation and competition along the way.
Germany, Hungary, Italy and Bulgaria are highly dependent on Russian gas exports, raising the prospect of bitter arguments to come.
Next, European policies towards China, both in the EU and in the UK, are likely to come under increased scrutiny.
This list of allies and partners includes Australia, Israel, South Korea, Japan, Oman, Qatar and Singapore.
In the public imagination, his vague nuclear threats suggest intercontinental strikes against western cities. But suppose they mean something else.
We have a legal duty to intervene if chemical weapons are used, and that is a duty we must not fail.
As German tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia, representatives of this country’s biggest companies were busy in Germany.
It should remain a long-term aim but ensuring that we can generate the energy we need without a reliance on overseas sources should come first.
Although we should arm Ukraine, we should not fan the flames of a wider European war – but tighten our economic grip in a way never before seen.
And if he is strong and the West weak, why has his Ukraine invasion gone wrong – and why are our governments showing unity and resolution?
Britain’s calling is to lead the Anglosphere, a great power almost no one has given nearly enough thought about.
Geopolitical risks create uncertainty in energy markets as reliability is questioned, pushing up prices and creating resistance to climate change goals.
Schröder and Merkel long insisted Putin was a trustworthy partner, but Germany under Scholz has now been forced to take the side of freedom.
The recent drive, apparently coordinated between Paris and Berlin, to push Ukraine for a compromise settlement must be resisted.